


killing me slowly

by theriveroflight



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Awkward Dates, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Ladrien | Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng as Ladybug, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-19
Updated: 2020-04-29
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:15:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 19,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23732950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theriveroflight/pseuds/theriveroflight
Summary: When Ladybug begins to fake date Adrien, she gets more than she bargained for. Or maybe they get exactly what they bargained for, considering that they're infatuated with each other.(Also featuring: Luka and Kagami getting over their crushes, Adrinette being able to actually talk to each other, the shadow of Chat Blanc, Wholesome Lesbians, and too much mutual pining and not enough communication.)
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Aurore Beauréal/Mireille Caquet, Luka Couffaine/Wayhem, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 13
Kudos: 27
Collections: April 2020 - AU





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Shattered_Heartless](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shattered_Heartless/gifts).



> This is...probably the longest fic I've written. No idea how long it's going to end up. I'm at 20k and only like, three chapters in.
> 
> Written for the ML Fanfic Discord April 2020 Exchange for Shattered_Heartless. I hope you like it!

Ladybug’s sitting on the windowsill facing Adrien. The window’s open, and he’s sitting on his bed.

Her night time visits have been a more recent development. Hey, if Chat Noir can visit her civilian self on her balcony, she can visit Adrien in his room. She just sits on the windowsill, and the two of them talk.

She originally came to him because she needed to know how to handle being famous. Turns out that Adrien was just as clueless as she was.

It started out a little awkward, but it’s gotten to the point where their conversation just...flows. It’s as if they’ve known each other in these forms for a lifetime.

“I just don’t get it,” he says. “Why can’t they just...stop?”

“I know how you feel. I see all these...thirst posts online about my butt or my legs or my chest and I can’t...I don’t want to be seen like that, you know?”

“Kagami and I kind of broke up, too. We never even really had a relationship.” He laughs mirthlessly. “I don’t mind her pursuing me, but she isn’t really the person I want. Not to equate her to those people, because she’s _nothing_ like them, but in a way it’s similar.”

“Yeah, I know how you feel. This guy’s been flirting with me, and I can tell that he’s really, really in love with me like die for me style…but I don’t feel the same way, and it would be wrong to lead him on, no matter how much I’m tempted to just to keep them all away.”

“I have an idea,” he says, smirking in a way that vaguely reminds her of her partner. “We could pretend to be together.”

She suddenly straightens her back. _“What?!”_ What is Adrien _thinking?_ She supposes that he doesn’t know that she’s in love with him, but it’s still a bit shocking.

“We should pretend to be in a relationship! We’re both so high-profile, and around the same age, so it works.” He looks utterly pleased to have had this idea.

“Would your father really approve of this?” she asks. “I know he’s really strict, and I wouldn’t suspect that he’s the biggest fan of the heroes.”

“I don’t think he’ll take too much issue with it.” He shrugs. “You’re a superhero. If something goes wrong you can defend me.”

“No offense, but your father is a _terrifying_ man, and also twice my size. I might not win that fight.”

“I’m sure you could, Ladybug,” he answers.

“Okay, if we’re doing this fake relationship thing we’re going to do it right,” she says. “First of all, who do we tell first?”

“I think it’d be best to just…go out more often, and let the people figure it out for themselves, and then I’ll invite you over when Father starts asking questions?” It doesn’t sound like a solid plan. Adrien’s not a planner, she suspects - but then again, his schedule is premade by someone. He doesn’t have much opportunity for planning.

“Yeah. Sure. When’s the next time you’re free?” she asks. She’ll go along with it. It’s the craziest thing she’s complied with - and fighting a butterfly-based supervillain that uses emotional civilians to do his dirty work is pretty crazy. “Actually, no, let me save your number in my communicator. You don’t need to save mine in case your father is suspicious, and you can delete the texts and history. At least until it comes out.”

“Yeah, that sounds good.” He unlocks his phone and hands it over to her. She opens up his contacts to see his number and opens up her communicator to type it in. “I’ll talk to Nathalie about a possible outing with a friend, and she’ll let me know the next time I’m free.”

“Yeah, that’s good. Until next time, love.” She turns, crouching on the windowsill, and hooks her yo-yo on a nearby rooftop.

“Wait. _Love?”_ she hears Adrien say as she takes off.

“Oh gosh,” she whispers to herself as she yo-yos back home. “What have I done?”

The answer’s simple. She’s agreed to fake date the person that she has a crush on.

The person she has a crush on, Adrien Agreste.

Alya would _scream_ if she knew about it.

***

Adrien knows he’s making a mistake the moment he utters the words “we could pretend to be together.”

The people wanting him, the people that sexualize him...there used to be stalkers, but the mansion has helped to minimize that a little bit. Of course, he befriended Wayhem, who would fanboy about him, but Wayhem’s toned down quite a bit since he first met him. Adrien thinks that since they got to know each other, Wayhem understands that he’s not the teen magazine cover model that he’s seen as sometimes.

But it’s even more shocking when Ladybug _agrees._ She doesn’t seem like she would go along with it. And she does seem shocked at first, but she complies.

He knows why he did it, too. It’s his only chance to really have a shot at doing _anything_ that resembles a relationship with Ladybug. She’s never been the type to care about what others thought about her personal life - or so he thought.

The visits have been making him think otherwise. Of course, he’s seen some of the thirstier posts by random users on the Ladyblog. Alya does her best to take them down - _she’s underage, you perverts, that 3000 year old thing wasn’t true._ But even the best moderators are fallible, and a couple comments slip through on posts.

The first approach was awkward. Awkward because he always manages to make a fool of himself around her, and she shows this soft side to Adrien-him that he hardly sees anywhere else, and he always gets so flustered around her that it takes extra brainpower to get through just a conversation with her.

He invited her in one day when she was swinging along. She accepted, reasoning that if Chat was visiting a civilian why couldn’t she?

He was Chat Noir, and he took offense to that comment in the spirit of Chat Noir’s visits to Marinette, but he didn’t say anything because he isn’t supposed to know. 

And he’s gotten to know her over the few visits. It’s strange how much she’s willing to talk to Adrien because she thinks that he’ll understand better than Chat Noir. It hurts a little bit that she wants to talk to Adrien more than Chat about these things, but he’ll take anything to get to know Ladybug more.

Adrien is kind of acting as her “fame coach.” He realizes it on the third visit. When did he become a paragon of dealing with fame? He remembers the unfortunate way that Marinette was treated when she was with him, the day his bodyguard got akumatized. One would think that Ladybug could hold her own - but she needs someone to help her out almost as much as he needs the Gorilla. He does a little more crowd control as Chat Noir, and she seems almost grateful for it.

He says the next time that she needs to learn to tell them to buzz off herself, someday. She tells him that it isn’t that easy.

That leads into their next rendezvous, where he asks to fake date her.

He realizes exactly why she agreed - she still can’t stand up for herself. She still wants to be seen as kind, and lovable, and a friend to everyone no matter what. Those kinds of expectations can completely destroy a person. It’s impossible to be loved by everyone, no matter how hard you try.

He waits for her to text him. She texts him with a smiley face emoticon and “-LB” at the end. How did he get here?

Oh wait, he knows exactly how. He stares at the screen for a bit, probably looking like a lovesick fool.

He needs to talk to someone. Felix might have stolen his phone, but he kind of misses Felix, in a way.

 _Me:_ _how’s it going?_

 _Felix: _ _I cannot believe that you type so informally. I’m doing well, thank you very much._

 _Me:_ _I think I’m making a mistake._

 _Felix:_ _That’s better. What did you do?_

 _Me:_ _Ladybug’s been visiting me._

 _Felix:_ _The one that punched me in the face?_

 _Me:_ _She punched you in the face????? What could you have done to deserve that?_

 _Felix:_ _I may have tried to kiss her._

 _Me:_ _That’s…_

 _Felix:_ _I know. It’s not good. I regret it, but I’m not going to say that to her - it’s a matter of pride. What are you doing with Ladybug now?_

 _Me:_ _She agreed to fake date me to keep people from being creepy to her._

 _Felix:_ _She seems a bit naive if she thinks that’ll actually work._

 _Me:_ _It’ll at least cause more people to rise in defense of the non-creeps. If we’re taken then it’s just easier for both of us._

 _Felix:_ _You’re making a mistake._

Felix would say that he’s making a mistake. He wasn’t there for it, but he did hear about Ladybug decking his cousin from some of his classmates later on.

“Kid, I hate to agree with your cousin, but this is probably one of the worst ideas that you’ve ever had. Beats the candlelight dinner by a long shot,” Plagg announces.

“I know,” he sighs. “You don’t need to tell me twice, Plagg.”

What does it say about him that he’s going along with it?

***

She receives a text from Adrien the next day.

 _Adrien <3:_ _I talked to nathalie. free saturday evening_

 _Me:_ _That’d be lovely. Gives me some time to do homework and hang out with civi-friends._

 _Adrien <3:_ _I have a fencing tournament, but it starts in the early morning. i’ll let you know when i get out, k?_

 _Me:_ _I’ll pick you up from your house._

She can’t wait for the date.

It’s supposed to be fake, they’re _supposed_ to be noticed by people…but she’s tempted to hide them away, to keep them safe. She’s always wanted Adrien to be safe. She couldn’t stand to watch him fall. “Love” slips out by accident, but may as well start pretending while she can. Her feelings are very real - but she has to remember that he’ll be pretending.

That in the end, it’s a charade.

It’s Friday. She still has to get through school.

_Alya._

She’ll have to pretend to be heartbroken for Alya. Because Ladybug “stole” Adrien. But if she’s Ladybug, she’s just stealing Adrien from herself.

Marinette frowns. Stealing isn’t a great word to use, because it implies that he didn’t consent to it. Consensual thievery?

She packs her bag and grabs a pastry on the way out, running late.

“Marinette,” Tikki says on the walk, “I know you think you’re making the right decision…”

“I’m just using the mask and the suit, not the powers. I wouldn’t use the powers,” she says in return. “Never.”

They reach the school. Marinette stops by her locker to put her coat in, and then heads out to greet Nino and Alya and finish her breakfast. Adrien’s with them. She blushes, remembering the conversation that they had last night.

“You look tired, bro,” she hears Nino say.

Adrien yawns. “I was up late last night.”

“And what were you doing so late at-” Alya starts, but is cut off.

“Heeeey Marinette!” Adrien says. She waves.

“Morning,” she says, smiling. Alya looks at her weirdly, probably wondering how she can get out competent words. She’s been getting better at it. Visiting him as Ladybug has certainly helped - she’s gotten to know a side of him that she didn’t before, and she thinks that’s caused her to just fall deeper in.

“Hey, dudette,” Nino says, pointing a couple finger guns.

“So, we were just asking Adrien why exactly he was so sleep deprived.” Alya smirks. Marinette, of course, knows why - she certainly can’t say it, though.

“I was studying,” he explains. “Remember the history test today?”

“Yeah, Nino and I studied together for a couple hours after school.” The two high five.

“I didn’t really get that luxury right after school.”

Adrien definitely wasn’t studying history. She would’ve noticed.

“Oh, shoot.” They all turn to look at her. “I remembered! I studied! But not nearly enough.”

The warning bell rings to save her.

“Let’s go,” Alya says. They all head off to class together.

***

He checks with Nathalie the next morning at breakfast. “When do I have scheduled free time?”

She consults her tablet’s schedule. “After the fencing tournament Saturday, the rest of your day is free. You do have your usual Chinese lessons Sunday morning, so don’t stay out too late if you’re going out with your friends.”

“I’m not going anywhere, just wondering.” He resists to scratch the back of his neck, his most obvious tell. “Thank you, Nathalie.”

They continue eating breakfast. The Gorilla is waiting by the door for him to finish so that they can go to school.

He texts Ladybug while they drive to school, telling her that she’s free. She texts him back, and they have a brief conversation.

Gorilla drops him off in front of the school. “Have a good day!” he says to him.

Adrien walks into the school and finds Nino and Alya. They’re already chatting away on a bench.

“Do you ever stop?” he asks. “You’re almost always together.”

“During class,” Alya points out.

“You still pass notes. I sit next to Nino - you might be subtle enough to get past Mme Bustier, but the way he looks at the notes you pass him is more than enough.” He’s trying to lightly tease them. Alya and Nino have a healthy relationship - one uncomplicated by everything between him and Ladybug.

It feels weird to refer to her as his lady. He still uses “milady” as Chat, but that’s just habit. Ladybug isn’t his, and he knows that even better than he did before since the visits started.

Actually, he should come up with a new nickname. One that Chat doesn’t use already, because he doesn’t want to be unoriginal.

“And what are you doing during class?” Alya raises an eyebrow.

“Paying attention, unlike you,” he fires back. However, the bite of the remark is ruined by him yawning after.

“You look tired, bro,” Nino comments.

He yawns again, slightly smaller. “I was up late last night.”

“And what were you doing so late at-” He spots Marinette approaching them, deciding to stop Alya from finishing her sentence.

“Heeeey Marinette.” He smiles at her. She’s slightly flushed - she probably just came in. Marinette waves.

“Hey, dudette,” Nino says to her.

“So,” Alya turns towards Marinette, “we were just asking Adrien why exactly he was so sleep deprived.” She smirks.

It was because of Ladybug. But he can’t say that. He can’t let it slip that the superheroes visit civilians - Alya would be on that like fire, and it would head back to Father. He doesn’t want Father to know that Ladybug is in his house, hanging out with his son. Who knows what he would do to stop Ladybug from coming in ever again?

“I was studying,” he spitballs, and then remembers the history test today. “Remember the history test today?”

He was studying before that. And practicing piano. And he had fencing.

“Yeah, Nino and I studied together for a couple hours after school.” The two high five. They’re really insufferable sometimes.

“I didn’t really get that luxury right after school.” It’s true. Ladybug’s visit came right when he was about to go to bed after finishing all of his schoolwork.

“Oh, shoot,” Marinette says. They all turn towards her. She seems to panic a bit under all of their scrutiny. “I remember! I studied! But not nearly enough.”

He knows how that feels. But Marinette always does well in school. She should be okay.

The warning bell rings to let them know that they only have five minutes to get to class.

“Let’s go.” Alya leads the four of them to the classroom.

Class is business as usual. He thinks he does well on the test. Nothing less than a 95 will be accepted by his father, and he’s pretty sure he meets it. He skips lunch in favor of a nap.

(It’s unhealthy, and certainly not part of his meal plan - but neither is being Chat Noir, and neither is his date tomorrow night with Ladybug. He’ll eat after fencing. It’ll be fine. Fencing will be light anyways, because of the tournament tomorrow.)

After lunch, he goes through the rest of his classes fine. He feels a lot better after that little nap.

Fencing isn’t overly eventful. He spars against Kagami, per usual. It’s been a little awkward since she confessed and he let her down, but fencing is business, and he’s the only one good enough to face off against her in their fencing class. She provides a challenge, per usual, but they never get to face each other outside of these classes, so it’s good that they spar against each other every once in a while.

And if she’s a little more pointed in her attacks, he can reply with just as much ferocity.

***

**_Bustier’s Class_ **

_Me:_ _help I made too many posters for Adrien and Kagami’s fencing tournament tomorrow_

 _Alix:_ _Sorry, can’t make it, going to support Kim_

 _Kim:_ _ondine and i will be at swimming, yeah_

 _Max:_ _I’ll be with them as well._

 _Juleka:_ _I could ask my brother, I have a date with Rose but I’m sure he’d like to support them_

 _Sabrina_ _:_ _w/ Chloe, per usual_

 _Nathaniel:_ _Marc & I are doing a double date w/ Juleka_

 _Nino:_ _I’m doing a DJ set for a party tomorrow_

 _Alya:_ _fam needs me tomorrow. saying I spend too much time with my bf, as if_

 _Me:_ _they might just be right :P_

 _Me:_ _thanks guys, I’m glad I asked_

 _Ivan:_ _family obligations_

 _Mylene:_ _I’m busy too_

**_Aurore, Mireille_ **

_Me_ _:_ _hey, I made too many posters for Adrien and Kagami’s fencing tournament, you free tomorrow? don’t want them to go unused_

 _Aurore_ _:_ _The two of us can come, sure_

 _Me:_ _That’d be great!_

**_Luka_ **

_Luka:_ _my sister told me about the tournament_

_Luka_ _:_ _I can make it, but are you sure you’re comfortable?_

_Me:_ _I’m more worried about you than me to be honest. are you okay with coming so soon after?_

 _Luka:_ _I’m always happy to support Adrien_

 _Luka_ _:_ _and Kagami_

 _Luka:_ _and make sure that your creativity doesn’t go to waste_

 _Me_ _:_ _if you’re sure._

There isn’t as much homework because it’s Friday. She finishes up the homework and puts the finishing touches on her signs. They have various cheesy slogans on them, but they’re for support, and she hopes that one of them will look at her posters and appreciate it.

Tomorrow. Saturday.

“Marinette, you have a message on your yo-yo,” Tikki chirps.

“Tikki, spots on!” she says, to read it.

She hopes it’s from Adrien.

 _Adrien <3_ _:_ _looking forward to seeing you tomorrow_

 _Me:_ _Me too._

In both fencing and on their “date.”

It almost feels real, based on the way that they’re texting.

“Spots off,” she says, sighing.

“Marinette,” Tikki says, concerned. “I think you’re in this too far.”

“I do too. But...it gives me a chance. To pretend that it’s real, no matter what.”

“If he texts while you’re out and I’m in your bag, I’ll tap on your hip twice,” Tikki declares. It feels like support.

Someone knocks on her trapdoor.

She rolls her eyes. Marinette suspects it’s Chat Noir. “Chat again?” Tikki asks.

“Better hide,” she tells Tikki, and heads up out of the trapdoor.

“Hoping I didn’t interrupt your homework, princess.” She sees Chat Noir, leaning up against his staff. “Just wanted to drop by.”

“You didn’t. I finished a while ago. There wasn’t as much today as there normally is, so it isn’t too bad.”

“Got anything going on tomorrow?” he asks.

“Going to see a couple of my friends compete. I made too many posters for them, but I recruited some friends into helping me use them.”

“That’s good,” he says. “I can’t make it myself, but I’m sure your posters look fabulous. All of your creations do.”

“Stop flattering me.” She rolls her eyes. “It’s not going to get you anywhere.”

“You never know, Marinette,” he answers. This banter of theirs is a lot of fun for her, and she hopes he’s having just as much. “Someone’s fallen to my charms.”

“Oh, really?” She looks at him skeptically.

“I have a date tomorrow evening, thank you very much.” He straightens his posture and puffs his chest to show off for her.

“Guess you got over your lady, huh?”

“You certainly wouldn’t know.” She certainly would, considering that she _is_ Ladybug, but he wouldn’t know that. “I think it’s going to be a good date, all things considered.”

“I hope you have fun on it, Chat.” And it’s legitimate. If he gets over Ladybug-her, they’ll have an easier time on the battlefield.

“I do too. I hope your friends do well at their competition, princess. Have a good night.”

He heads off. She watches him go. It’s interesting - normally their conversations last longer, but maybe Chat doesn’t feel like talking tonight. Chat wouldn’t visit her… 

Maybe he just wanted to tell her about the date. That has to be it.

She heads back into her room. It’s almost time to go to bed anyways. Normally she showers at night, but since she has more time tomorrow, she’ll shower tomorrow morning. Doors open for the tournament at 8:30, which is later than school, but it doesn’t start until 8:45, so she gets extra time if she’s unwilling to get up on time. She’ll wake up at 7:30.

***

The visit to Marinette...he just needs to talk to _someone_ about his date with Ladybug. He doesn’t know a whole lot of people he can talk about it with. He saw Marinette talking about the excess posters she made for the tournament. He can’t wait to see them - he’s certain that they look great.

When he visits Marinette, she says a lot of things that he already knows. When he says that he’s going on a date with someone, her reaction was kind of half-expected. He expected her to reply with something snarky, but not that. Technically, he is going on a date with Ladybug, but not as Chat Noir, and it isn’t even a real date (as much as he wishes it was). She wished him well…

It means a lot to him that she cares. There haven’t been a whole lot of people that care about him, but there are certainly more than there were a few months ago.

He goes to sleep. He’ll need all the rest he can get for the fencing tournament.

He rises the next morning rested and prepared for the tournament. He checks his phone to see a text.

 _Wayhem:_ _yeah, I’ll be at the tournament tomorrow to support you!_

 _Me:_ _look out for my friend Marinette. she’ll be holding up a poster. dark hair, pigtails, probably wearing something pink and sitting with a guy whose tips are dyed blue_

 _Wayhem:_ _that was the girl you were with when your bodyguard was akumatized, right?_

 _Me_ _:_ _that’s her! she doesn’t like when that’s brought up though so don’t lol_

 _Wayhem:_ _I won’t. think she has an extra poster for me?_

 _Me:_ _she said she made a bunch for K and I, so there should be 1 for you_

 _Wayhem:_ _cool, see you in a couple hours then._

That’s right. It’s 6:45. He needs to go quickly to get there and warmup. The tournament starts in two hours. He needs to eat as soon as possible.

He changes into the athletics clothes that he wears for warmups before he stinks up his fencing uniform at practice. It’s just casual, more so than he normally wears.

He heads downstairs, where breakfast is prepared so that it perfectly complements the fencing for today. It’s all formulated so that he eats as healthily as possible so he gains weight at a pace consistent with his growth - not too much, but not too little. They don’t want him to be too skinny - he already looks a little too skinny, according to some. It’s good for modeling, but he has a lot of activity as Chat Noir that doesn’t get taken into account - that’s why he occasionally indulges in other things.

He eats breakfast too quickly, and runs back upstairs to grab his gym bag of fencing gear. Time to go.

Gorilla drives him to the fencing tournament. Nathalie is also in the car, but he suspects that she won’t stay for the entire time. Kagami’s family may even end up driving him home. It’s certainly happened before. He feels sorry for Kagami. She didn’t do anything besides love him, and it was a lot more sane than some of the people that claim to love him. But he can’t...he can’t pretend to love her back.

He’s not pretending to love Ladybug. Even if she might be.

The thoughts are still coursing through his head as he warms up, jogging around the gym and then stretching.

Kagami looks over at him. “You seem distracted.”

“I’ve had a lot on my mind,” he answers.

They’re stretching together at the bars. She’s more flexible than him, but not by much.

“Like what?” She tilts her head sideways. “Did you think about what I said to you?”

“I did. I’m still going to stand by what I said. I can’t…lie about my feelings. Besides, I have a date scheduled for after the tournament.”

“I thought Marinette was with Luka.” Oh. This is a total miscommunication. He…doesn’t want to date Marinette. Maybe.

“She isn’t, as far as I know, but she’s not the person I’m going on a date with anyways. You’ll probably hear about it in a celebrity gossip article tomorrow.” He laughs, but it’s not really funny.

“Ah, I see. I hope...you have fun.” Kagami sounds a little hurt, but she’s honestly handling it a lot better than he thought she would.

He checks his watch. It’s 8:30.

“15 minutes to opening ceremonies. We should get changed,” he says. “Doors are opening soon. In case I don’t catch you before the start of the tournament, good luck. I’ll be keeping a lookout for you where I can.”

“And the same to you, Adrien.”

They part ways towards their separate locker rooms. He doesn’t look back at her, but feels the weight of a gaze between his shoulders.

***

Marinette actually arrives at 8:35, which is better than she honestly expected. Aurore and Mireille are already there, holding hands. They’ve always made a good couple.

“There’s going to be one more person,” she says to them. She has all the posters slung under her arm - six in total.

“Make that two.” She hears a familiar voice behind her and turns.

“It’s been a while,” she says, offering a hand to shake. He accepts. “Wayhem, right?”

“Yup. Marinette? Adrien was telling me about you this morning.” She feels flattered by that - Adrien apparently talks about her to his friends. Wow. Okay.

“This is Aurore and Mireille, you might have seen them on the weather forecasts?”

“Yup, I have,” he answers.

“Good to meet you, Wayhem,” Aurore declares.

She spots Luka on his bike. “That’s who I was really waiting for.”

“Oh, making this a date?” Mireille asks.

“Nah, he’s just a friend of mine now. We talked about it.” Nothing’s going to happen, and she feels frustrated that everyone seems to think something’s going on between her and Luka. His feelings have been…pretty obvious, in hindsight. But that doesn’t mean that they aren’t unrequited.

She’d feel bad if she dated him. And that’s not what makes a healthy relationship. She doubts her arrangement with Adrien as Ladybug is the healthiest, but it’s not really a relationship (as much as she wants it to be).

“Hey Luka,” she says as he dismounts and locks his bike up. “You probably already know Aurore and Mireille, yes?”

“I do. Who’s him?”

“I’m Wayhem. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too,” Luka replies. Wayhem looks a little flustered at that.

Oh. Interesting. Maybe she can set them up. Luka deserves to be happy, too. And helping him move on from her would certainly be a plus.

They head into the tournament together. Marinette pays for their tickets. It’s the least she can do for them. Luka and Mireille will probably pay her back later, knowing them. It’s not very high-cost, though she does know that she needs to save money for the date tonight with Adrien. It wouldn’t be fair to make him pay just because he’s a rich male and it would be expected of him. Ladybug’s always been the type to defy expectations, after all.

They take their place up in the stands, where they can see both the female and male ring. This is a pretty small tournament, compared to some of the ones she’s heard about Adrien going to. It’s just the school’s students and a few outsiders, not people from all over France. A couple Parisian schools working together for this tournament to raise some money.

It’s nice to have to not worry about big crowds. The younger age group, ten through twelve, is competing first.

The opening ceremonies begin with the French national anthem, and then a few remarks from M. D’Argencourt and the other instructor. She distributes her six posters between the five of them - Kagami’s posters go to Mireille and Aurore, Adrien’s go to Wayhem and Luka, and the other two are more generic, so she takes them. The 13-15 tournament isn’t starting until later anyways, but it’s good to be prepared. Watching the younger kids matches is helping her to get a deeper understanding of precisely how these tournaments work - she knows how matches work, but the tournaments are run a bit differently.

These people are working exceptionally hard, too. 

At around 10:30 AM, the kids are done.

“This is my first time watching one of these,” Luka comments. “It’s been rather enlightening. At least now I know what they’ll be doing.”

Wayhem looks over at him. “Yeah. I attended one of these before - it was a lot bigger, and I think it was Adrien’s…”

“Fifth name day?” Marinette jumps in. She remembers that particular day - that was Adrien’s last tournament, and also the day where her most terrifying nightmare took place.

“Yeah.” Wayhem looks at her strangely. “How’d you know that?”

“I had a gift for him. It didn’t end up making it through.”

“Anyways, it was still interesting. And that one was a lot bigger. I’m glad I actually have a poster this time.” Marinette looks down sheepishly.

“They’re really nice,” Aurore piped in. “Marinette, you always do a good job. You deserve more credit for all that you do.”

“Yeah,” Mireille agrees.

“Oh. Kagami’s wearing a red suit, unlike almost everyone else,” she says. “You’ll be able to see her more easily. Adrien’s a little less obvious.”

“I can point him out for you,” Wayhem says. She remembers that they actually do have a lot in common, and should probably get along better.

They all see Kagami emerge onto the floor for the preliminary rounds of the tournament. They look towards the other ring to see if they can spot Adrien. Wayhem points him out with ease. She has to look a little harder to see it, and the others are confused at how they figured it out.

They hold up their posters as they watch the competition. Judges make calls - some better than others - and the preliminaries end. Kagami and Adrien both landed in the top eight and will compete in the 1v1 matches.

But it’s noon. Time for lunch. They’re taking an hour long lunch break, and will return to the tournament after lunch.

“Let’s head out?”

“Yeah,” Mireille agrees. “I want to see if we can catch up to Kagami and Adrien.”

Tikki taps twice on her hip. “I have to run to the bathroom, catch you in a couple minutes? I brought sandwiches.”

“I also brought some food,” Wayhem says. “The food at these things is way too expensive.”

“I’ll be right back.” She descends off the bleachers towards the bathroom.

Nobody’s in there, surprisingly. “Tikki, spots on,” she whispers, sitting on the toilet to read her messages from Adrien.

 _Adrien <3_ _:_ _I have a fencing tournament. not saying that it’d be nice to see you…_

 _Adrien <3:_ _but lunch break is right now, you could_

 _Me:_ _I could :) I’ll come find you. With any friends?_

 _Adrien <3:_ _you already know Kagami, and Marinette - she brought the two weathergirls, and Luka. I don’t know if you ever saw him but Wayhem’s one of my friends, he looks a lot like me_

 _Me:_ _I’ll be sure to find you ;)_

 _Adrien <3:_ _see you soon!_

Guess she won’t be transforming back after all.

She exits the bathroom and goes to find Adrien.

“Ladybug!” Adrien says when he sees her, and wraps her in a hug. She reciprocates more easily than she expected. He backs out of the hug after a bit.

“Adrien.” She doesn’t have to fake a smile. “How’s the tournament going?”

“It’s going pretty good. I’m seated pretty high, so I think I’ll end up doing well.”

“You’ve been distracted all day,” Kagami teases. “And I can see why, now.” He scratches the back of his neck, looking sheepish. Did Adrien tell her about their date?

They’re _friends._ She won’t get jealous. He already said that any feelings on Kagami’s part were unrequited.

“Ladybug, do you know where Marinette went? She went to the bathroom, and she hasn’t been back since. It was right after the tournament got out, so it’s been about ten minutes.” Luka. She feels bad, because she _is_ Marinette, but Adrien asks. And whatever Adrien asks of her she’ll always provide.

“I don’t know. Why would I know what a lady does in the bathroom?” she asks. “There are all sorts of things that could be going on. Who am I to judge Marinette? I’m sure she’s fine.”

“Alright,” he answers.

Mireille, Aurore, and Kagami are wrapped up in their own conversation. Kagami slides her phone over to them. Good that Kagami is making more friends - goodness knows she needs as many as she can get.

“Join us, Ladybug.” Adrien makes a gesture of invitation for her to sit between him and Kagami.

“I’m sorry, I can’t. I couldn’t show up for very long anyways, I have stuff in civilian life that I need to do.” She pecks him quickly on the cheek. “For good luck. Bug out!”

She waves to the group.

***

Adrien texts Ladybug on a whim after he changes out of his gear into something more suitable for going out to eat with his friends.

 _Me:_ _I have a fencing tournament. not saying that it’d be nice to see you…_

 _Me:_ _but lunch break is right now, you could_

 _Unknown Number:_ _I could :) I’ll come find you. With any friends?_

 _Me_ _:_ _you already know Kagami, and Marinette - she brought the two weathergirls, and Luka. I don’t know if you ever saw him but Wayhem’s one of my friends, he looks a lot like me_

 _Unknown Number:_ _I’ll be sure to find you ;)_

Ladybug will be the death of him with that wink emoticon.

 _Me:_ _s_ _ee you soon!_

He grins down at the screen and grabs his lunchbox, heading out.

“Good job on qualifying,” Kagami says. She looks like she was waiting for him with her own lunch.

“You too,” he answers. He heads out to meet Marinette and the group. He sees that Wayhem did find them after all. But Marinette’s not with them.

“Where’s Marinette?” he asks as he catches up to them.

“Marinette went to the bathroom,” Aurore answers casually. “Is Kagami around? I wanted to talk to her.” Mireille glares at her. _“We_ wanted to talk to her.”

“I saw her just now, but I don’t know if she’ll be joining us,” he answers.

“I’d be happy to.” He blinks. Where did Kagami come from?

They find a table outside to eat at and sit down. He’s between Kagami and Wayhem, but Wayhem is more focused on Luka.

He should’ve known that they would hit it off. It makes sense that they’d get along, now that he looks back on both of them. Mireille, Aurore, and Kagami are chatting away - from the little snippets that he’s heard, it seems like Mireille and Kagami have met before.

“Ladybug?” he hears Aurore inquire. He stands up to greet her.

“Ladybug!” He hugs her. She returns the embrace. He feels secure in the hug - even though he’s taller than her, he feels protected in her embrace. She…smells a bit musty, he notices and backs out of the hug.

“Adrien.” She smiles. “How’s the tournament going?”

“It’s going pretty good. I’m seated pretty high, so I think I’ll end up doing well.” He’s probably being overenthusiastic, but does he care? No. This is preliminary practice in showing his feelings for Ladybug, instead of having to hide them. It’s practice for their date later. Both hiding and showing.

“You’ve been distracted all day,” Kagami teases. “And I can see why, now.” He reaches a hand to scratch the back of his neck. It looks like Kagami’s figured out who his date is going to be before it even got out. That’s…

Does he need to be more or less subtle with his feelings?

Luka shatters the tension, thank goodness. “Ladybug, do you know where Marinette went? She went to the bathroom, and she hasn’t been back since. It was right after the tournament got out, so it’s been about ten minutes.”

“I don’t know. Why would I know what a lady does in the bathroom?” she asks. “There are all sorts of things that could be going on. Who am I to judge Marinette? I’m sure she’s fine.” Adrien frowns. It’s a lot longer of an answer than he suspects she would provide.

“Alright,” Luka replies.

“Join us, Ladybug,” he offers. There’s room at the table.

“I’m sorry, I can’t. I couldn’t show up for very long anyways, I have stuff in civilian life that I need to do.” She pecks him quickly on the cheek. He’s a little stunned, but it’s good. It feels good. It’s a new experience. Wow. “For good luck. Bug out!”

He watches her go, stunned.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first "date."
> 
> (Also: the beginning of a couple subplots, the conclusion of the fencing tournament, MORE mutual pining, and the result of a Lucky Charm.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Format for texts has been fixed for this chapter. I'll be sure to add the underlines in to Chapter 1.
> 
> I forgot to put this in the last chapter - a bunch of people from the ML fanfic Discord helped me out, including Lyra with brainstorming, and Crispie, Cedalodon, and Shannon for betaing. Thank you all for your contributions to this story! A link to the Discord where you can interact with these lovely people (and also me, I guess) should be in the end notes of the story.

Marinette returns shortly after, with some food for her, Mireille, Aurore, and Luka.

“You’ve got it bad, man,” Wayhem teases, probably directed at Adrien.

“Did I miss something?” she asks. She knows _exactly_ what she missed, but Marinette wouldn’t, so she asks.

“Ladybug dropped by to talk to Adrien,” Luka explains. “Looked pretty intimate.”

He blushes. “I have a date with her tonight.” If she didn’t know that it is fake because she’s Ladybug, she would assume that he at least has a crush on Ladybug. But she does, and this is just acting.

“Oh.” Marinette grins. “I hope you have a lot of fun with her.” It’s a little devious of her to be acting like this when she _knows,_ but it’s fun.

They all eat their lunch peacefully, talking about nothing important. At about 12:45, Adrien and Kagami have to go back, change, and warm up again.

“Good luck. We’ll be here with the posters!” she says.

“I have all the luck I need,” Adrien replies. Kagami rolls her eyes.

“Luck is for the weak. Skill’s all you need.”

The two continue debating as they head in.

“Are you okay, Marinette?” Luka asks.

“Yeah. I know that you…” Aurore trails off before she can finish the sentence. _Liked him._

She shrugs. “Nothing I can do about it. Let’s reclaim our old spot in the stands before someone else grabs it.”

“If you say so,” Luka replies. They get up from the table, and throw out various garbage before heading back in to watch the rest of the tournament.

***

As much as the Ladybug kiss was supposed to be good luck, he still feels a little off-balance. They never talked about boundaries, and as much as it was okay with him…they shouldn’t do too much. He doesn’t think his heart can take it.

He manages to turn his brain off enough to get through the tournament, though. And he manages to come out on top.

Kagami...Kagami seems to be struggling a bit. Aurore and Mireille are holding up their posters, and they seem hopeful, but he watches the score flick in her opponent’s favor. They end in a tie.

The tiebreaker comes quickly after a quick break. He awaits the results with bated breath.

Kagami comes out on top by a quick touch. Her opponent doesn’t even stand a chance against an overly-determined Kagami.

From the stands, he can see them all looking enthusiastic at their victories. He checks his watch. It’s 2:30. The 16-18 age bracket still has to compete, and then awards. Awards are scheduled for 5:15, so he has to stick around for a while. And that’s only if that poor fencer doesn’t get akumatized…

He should probably go comfort her, make sure there’s no akumas. He manages to get her as she’s leaving the ring.

“I’m really sorry.”

“Adrien Agreste, right? You won just now? You don’t know what it’s like to lose,” she spits.

“I spar with Kagami a lot. She’s a tough opponent. I can’t beat her half the time. She’s determined, and driven, and her mother is always pushing her to be the best. You held your own against her the best you could - coming down to a tiebreaker is better than most of her opponents.”

She narrows her eyes. “Did she send her boyfriend to confront me?”

“We’re not dating. Never will be. I don’t have feelings for her like that. But I just wanted to congratulate you, and tell you that you did great, under the circumstances.”

“Yeah,” she replies. “Sure. Congratulations to you, too, for winning on the opposite end.”

She walks off to the locker room. He hopes that she won’t get akumatized.

Nobody deserves to be taken advantage of like that for being sad or angry. And it would really ruin his day if he had to fight an akuma right after winning a tournament and with a date with Ladybug later (no matter how fake it is).

Ladybug. Ladybug gave him good luck. Maybe that helped him win the tournament. It’s practically miraculous…

Well, if she’s going to call him “love,” he needs a good name for her. “Miracle” sounds pretty good to him.

He goes to join his friends up in the stands.

***

Adrien’s climbing up the steps to join them. She waves him over.

“Congratulations, Adrien,” she says. “You did great.”

“Yeah, congrats on winning,” Wayhem says.

“Great job.” Luka smiles.

“Kagami did great out there, too,” Adrien says.

“Stop downplaying your own achievements.” Kagami herself.

“Congratulations, Kagami!” Mireille chimes in. “It was such a close match, I was afraid.”

“Definitely fun to watch,” Marinette contributes. “The tiebreaker kept us all on the edge of our seats.”

“Mother will be ashamed that I even let it go to a tiebreaker.” Kagami says it as though it’s a fact.

“You still won the whole tournament,” Aurore declares. “That’s an achievement.”

Kagami just sighs, and goes to sit next to them. Adrien sits next to Wayhem, but he takes out his phone to text someone.

Tikki taps twice. Oh. It’s her. Ladybug-her, that is.

“Who are you texting?” she hears Wayhem ask. Adrien blushes and pockets his phone.

“Just my miracle.” He smiles. She turns and grabs a drink of water from her bottle. Because he was _definitely_ texting her. The charade…he’s upping the stakes a bit. She called him love, but that was an accident. That wasn’t on purpose. This is _definitely_ on purpose.

“You have got it so bad,” Wayhem says to him.

“Stop harassing the poor guy,” Luka says. Wayhem turns back towards Luka, running his fingers through his hair.

“Sorry about that.”

She takes out her phone and shoots off a text to Luka.

_Me:_ _get it! :D_

His phone buzzes, and she smirks. It seems like maybe they could have a healthy relationship. Even if it doesn’t last, it gets Luka to move on from her, at least.

Awards come quicker than expected. They call the top three from each age group, females before males. Adrien and Kagami both receive gold medals.

People start to file out of the tournament and head home.

“Marinette, Wayhem, do either of you need a ride?” Adrien asks.

“No, I’m good,” Wayhem says. “I walked here, I can walk back.”

“Me too,” she answers.

“Alright,” Adrien says. “I’ll see you on Monday, Marinette!”

He’ll be seeing her much sooner than that - but he doesn’t know that, and he shouldn’t know that. Chat Blanc was enough of a mistake. She knows she shouldn’t trust Adrien with her identity. It leads to Chat finding out somehow. And Adrien knows enough to piece it all together just on that single gift…it’s probably just more proof that she’s making a mistake with that fake relationship, but maybe she can find some way to dissuade him further from thinking she’s Marinette. The typing style goes a long way - Ladybug types with better grammar than Marinette does.

Her phone vibrates in her pocket.

_ Luka: Marinette, what are you talking abt? _

_ Me: Wayhem seems kinda into you ngl _

_ Luka: he does not wh _

_ Me: I dunno maybe you should consider going for it _

_ Luka: I might be bi but not into every guy ever _

_ Me: know that, but you should still give it a shot _

_ Me: see if you can _

_ Luka: we exchanged numbers,,, _

_ Me: :) _

_ Luka: your habit of using emoticons still terrifies me sometimes _

She walks and texts, which isn’t exactly the safest, but she looks up when she has to cross any streets.

She reaches home quickly. She has to eat dinner with her family, and then get ready for her date.

Her date, with Adrien.

Her _fake_ date with Adrien.

She’s in too deep.

She sighs as she places down the posters (that they all gave her) on her desk, and her lunchbox back in her backpack.

She transforms to text Adrien.

_ Adrien <3: I won the tournament, only thanks to that good luck charm you gave me ;) _

_ Me: Glad to see that I helped, love. _

_ Adrien <3: we still on for later? _

_ Me: Of course. I’ll be picking you up at about 7 PM. Is that good for you? _

_ Adrien <3: brilliant, my miracle _

_ Me: See you then, love. _

The flirting’s dangerous. Too close to the truth. But Ladybug is in danger a lot. This might be a different kind of danger, but it’s danger nonetheless. If he finds out her identity…she doesn’t want to face that mega Cataclysm, reaching out towards him, the pain clear on her face…

That statue crumbled to dust under her fingers. A sight that’s haunted her nightmares sometimes.

Was it jealousy? She hopes that Chat would never be that petty. Maybe she should come clean to him. Their next patrol is Tuesday night. It’s a long ways out, but there’ll probably be another akuma before then, sure as the Earth’s rotation.

She detransforms when her parents call her for dinner. She’ll eat - and she hopes that Adrien will too, because they’re just going to get dessert.

She gets to leave at exactly 6:50. That’s enough time to swing over to the Agreste mansion. She swings in. Adrien always makes sure to disable any security cameras that might catch her during her time going in and out, just looping the regular footage of outside. He doesn’t have any inside his room, thank goodness. It’s hard enough to coordinate her going in and out.

The window’s open when she arrives.

“You ready, Adrien?” she asks.

“Always,” he answers.

“Hold on tight.” He grasps onto her with both arms. It feels strangely intimate as she holds onto his waist with one hand and swings with the other. She’s planned a visit to a bubble tea parlor, something neutral enough that also has other things, in case Adrien’s allergic to tapioca or something. It’s an Eastern bakery, but they’re more famous for their bubble tea. It’s a small hole-in-the-wall sort of place. Her parents’ bakery is more traditional French, and it would lead too closely to Marinette-her.

“Where are we going?” he asks as they get off the rooftops and onto the sidewalks. She opens up her yo-yo compartment and grabs a hoodie jeans to put on over her suit, and also reties the ribbons into a bun.

“Not much I can do about the mask, but I can at least look a little less conspicuous. We’re just going to a small bubble tea place. I didn’t want to go somewhere too big. They also sell light pastries and stuff, so I’m sure if you’re still hungry from dinner there’ll be something.”

His hand finds her. “This okay?”

“Yeah.” She looks over at him. Her bun is probably really messy, but she doesn’t care. Anything to spend time with Adrien. She squeezes his hand once as they walk into their destination.

“I’m paying for this one,” she says. “No arguments.”

“I would never argue with you, my miracle,” he answers.

“Alright. But uh…stay reasonable.”

He starts laughing. She can’t help herself, joining in.

***

She looks beautiful when she laughs. He feels enraptured, caught in her beauty.

“Welcome to the Eastern Teahouse, how may I help...you?” The employee looks like he recognizes at least one of them.

“I’d like a medium peach tea with tapioca pearls, please,” he chirps. He feels the comfort of her hand in his.

“I’ll take a medium mango tea with tapioca pearls and a slice of your Malay cake?” she orders.

“That’ll be €9,27, please.” The employee stays professional. Ladybug withdraws a wallet from her yo-yo and a €10 bill. 

“Keep the change,” she says as he’s taking out the coins. He deposits it into the tip jar on the counter.

“Thank you. Your drinks will be out shortly. Would you mind taking a picture with the boss for the Instagram page? Ladybug and Adrien Agreste at our place will certainly make our business go up.”

Adrien’s a little disappointed, but that’s the point of this whole thing - fake date so that people know that they’re together and stop asking him and Ladybug about who they’re romancing. “Of course!” he says. This is what it’s supposed to be.

Ladybug takes off her hoodie and places it around her waist, retying her hair into the twin pigtails.

“Hey, boss, the actual Ladybug is out front,” he hears the employee say to the other uniformed person behind the counter.

“That’s the latest order?” she asks. She heads out front to meet them.

“Ladybug...Adrien Agreste? It’s a pleasure.” She extends a hand out. Ladybug takes it. “I run this place. Did he speak with you about our Instagram?”

“Yes, he did,” Adrien says. “We’d be happy to take a picture with you.”

He whispers to her, “How are we going to present our relationship?”

“I think it’d be cool if we made a heart with our hands,” she whispers back.

They position in her phone, on selfie mode. Ladybug forms her half of the heart first. He smiles at her, before completing the heart.

All of them look towards the camera. The boss takes the photo.

“Thank you both,” she says. “We’ve been struggling a bit with business, your endorsement will help us dearly.”

“We’re happy to help,” Ladybug says. “We were looking forward to having a quiet date, but if we can help you we will.”

She puts back on her hoodie. Adrien retakes her hand.

“Yeah,” he says. “And be sure to tag my account, at adrienagrestebrand.”

“Of course, Adrien. Have a good time on your date, both of you.”

The other employee that took their order places their drinks and their slice of cake on the counter. It has two forks in it.

She smiles at him. “I gotta let go so I can grab everything, okay?”

He lets go of her, missing the slight contact as she grabs their drinks and her cake. She passes him his peach drink, and she takes the cake and her own drink. They settle on a circle table, in a more isolated corner. She doesn’t put her bun back up (which is a shame) but she does put the hoodie back on. She takes a bite from the cake.

“Well?” she offers. “There’s another fork, feel free to eat, love.”

And he can’t help but smile at her and pick up the fork.

She called him “love” again. He thought that it was a slip-up, a one-time thing. But it appears that she’s taken to it because it contributes to their illusion, makes them seem more loving.

***

She’s probably looking at him like a lovestruck fool right now, because that’s about how she feels. That whole photo op was exactly what they were looking for, something to publicize their “relationship” without being too obvious about it. But now they’re sitting at the table together, a little more privacy in their shadowed corner.

She _has_ him, but not really. In the end it’s all just fake because she’s too much of a coward to ask him out for real and get rejected; it’s all just fake because she’s too weak to refuse something that’s just going to make her pine more.

The drinks are good, and the atmosphere just adds to the intimacy of the date. It just feels very…very close. Not like she thought it would. It feels like maybe she has a chance, that maybe her feelings are requited after all.

They don’t talk while they enjoy their food. It feels weird, because she wants to have that low murmur, that constant banter. It’s just awkwardly silent. And as much as she knows that first dates are always awkward, and this one has more reason to be because it’s not really real.

First dates are supposed to be the “getting-to-know-each-other.” But by that definition, they’ve been dating from her first visit - and as much as she wishes that it were so, it still hasn’t really happened.

All dates have to end eventually. The cake between them has dwindled down to crumbs between their efforts, and they’ve been making awkward conversation since.

How do they pretend to date? It felt so easy and natural at the tournament to flirt with him, but now it’s just them. She doesn’t know how to act the same way without laying her feelings bare right then and there.

They toss out their drinks and place their plate atop the bin. She hooks her yo-yo onto the roof and they’re off again.

“When can we do this again?” he asks. “It was fun. And it’s good to get out of the house.”

“You don’t have to say that just to flatter me, Adrien. We both know the nature of our relationship.”

“No, I actually had fun. The bubble tea was good, and the cake was amazing. Unlike anything I’ve ever had before. I liked going out with you today, Ladybug, and I want to do it again.”

The words shatter her insecurities.

“Whenever you’re free, Adrien. Text me the next time you have a free date, and I’ll think of something.”

“I’m paying for the next one,” he says. “I mean it, Ladybug. You don’t get paid for being a superhero, as much as I wish we did get paid.”

“You’re more than just your wealth, Adrien.” They swing into his open window. “Good night.”

And in a stunning reversal, he kisses her on the cheek. There’s nobody around to see them, nobody to show off for. Just them.

He’s probably just practicing for later, for when they’ll really have to be careful of their public image.

“Good night, my miracle.” That nickname, again. He’s calling her miraculous. And it feels _good_ for once, coming from him.

She latches onto a nearby roof and heads back home.

***

Adrien watches Ladybug go. He can’t believe that he did that. And outside of the public eye, too. They’re supposed to be in a fake relationship. They aren’t really dating. It’s getting hard to remember that, and they’ve only had this arrangement for a few days.

He needs to sleep. He lets Plagg out of his shirt.

“You have got it bad, kitten,” Plagg says.

“I know, Plagg,” he answers. “But I can’t stop _thinking_ about her. And I know it’s a bad idea because she probably thinks it’s completely fake and that I’m rehearsing on her and that none of it matters, but it matters so much to me.”

Plagg rolls his eyes. “Your life is so complicated. This is why I choose to keep things simple.”

He changes into his pajamas, resolutely ignoring Plagg as he gets ready to go to bed.

He wakes up the next morning to a text from Ladybug.

_ Unknown Number: Be sure to let me know when we can have our next date. I can’t do Tuesday nights due to superhero duties. _

_ Unknown Number: Disclaimer: if our ‘dates’ ever get interrupted by an akuma I’m really sorry and I swear that I’m not planning it and that I will absolutely get back to you after it’s over. _

_ Me: don’t worry about it. Paris before me _

Those two little quotes around dates feel suffocating. Just another reminder that it's an arrangement for mutual benefit, not born out of mutual romantic interest.

He comes down for breakfast.

“We need to talk,” Nathalie says, “about this.”

On her tablet is the Instagram post from @teasternhouse with him and Ladybug in it.

“It’s Ladybug and I, yes,” he says.

“You should have consulted me and said it was _her_ you were going out with after the tournament!”

“I wouldn’t think that anyone would approve of me dating a superhero in this house,” he answers.

“Then perhaps,” Nathalie answers, “you shouldn’t have.”

“We’ve been talking over the past few weeks. We really got to know each other. The relationship is more recent - this is our first date.”

“Tell her she can use the front door next time she needs to take you on a date,” Nathalie replies. “I would appreciate it if you didn’t sneak out to see your paramour.”

“Well, it isn’t exactly a secret anymore,” he jokes. “We figured it would be best to share it ourselves, rather than have someone assume something far worse.”

Nathalie sighs. “We need to put out an official statement. I’ll contact PR over what’ll happen next. I will also have to inform your father.” He blanches. “He will want to talk to you about it, I suspect. Now, your Chinese tutor will be here in an hour.”

“Thank you, Nathalie.” He finishes his breakfast quickly and heads back up to his room.

This is what they wanted. Right?

***

She pulls onto her balcony. She sighs and opens up the communicator.

_ Me: Be sure to let me know when we can have our next date. I can’t do Tuesday nights due to superhero duties. _

_ Me: Disclaimer: if our ‘dates’ ever get interrupted by an akuma I’m really sorry and I swear that I’m not planning it and that I will absolutely get back to you after it’s over. _

She closes up the communicator and heads in the trapdoor for her room. The quotes around dates are something that she hopes will make him more comfortable - she wants to keep the illusion that she’s lying just like him as long as possible. He can’t know about her real feelings.

“Tikki, spots off.” A flash of pink, and back to Marinette.

“I hope you had fun.” Tikki huffs and crosses her arms. “I’m still not a fan of this idea, Marinette.”

“I know, Tikki. But as long as he doesn’t find out, Chat Blanc never happens.”

“I think there’s something that you’re missing here, Marinette,” Tikki answers. “I don’t know what it is, and I don’t think you can ask Bunnix, but I think there’s more to the Chat Blanc situation than you’re aware of. And you absolutely cannot let Adrien find out your identity.”

“Of course not. Who do you take me for, Tikki?” She crosses her arms. “I know how to be responsible around Adrien now. I won’t make the same mistakes.”

“I’m sure,” the kwami answers. “I just worry sometimes. I know you’ve learned a lot in the few weeks since that fifth name day, and I just get worried that it’s too much for you.”

She smiles. “Thank you, Tikki.” A yawn punctuates the air. “Time to go to bed.” She goes to shower quickly and get ready for bed with speed. It’s around her normal bedtime when she falls into bed, so it’s not too bad. Despite the date, she’s managed to sleep on time.

She can balance all this. It’ll be fine.

Marinette wakes up to Tikki shaking her awake. “You have a text from Adrien.”

“Spots on, then,” she says. The transformation is quick. She opens up her communicator.

_ Adrien <3: don’t worry about it. Paris before me _

He seems a lot more nonchalant than she thought, though Adrien’s always been understanding of her role as a hero of Paris. Maybe a little too understanding, but he _was_ Aspik, so that could explain why.

She hopes that he isn’t suffering too badly as a result of their date.

“Spots off,” she says, detransforming.

Well, now that she’s awake, she should eat some breakfast.

She checks her phone to see a text from Alya.

_ Alya: omg girl, have you heard??? https://thisisinfaux.net _

_ Me: no, what is it??? _

_ Alya: Ladybug just went out on a date with ADRIEN last night _

_ Me: holy cow, I mean I know that she visited Adrien during the tournament yesterday during the lunch break bc they all informed me when I got out of the br but didnt figure they were dating _

_ Alya: it’s a little startling to me too I really thought he liked you too _

_ Me: mutual feelings don't mean anything if I’m a coward _

_ Alya: you right, you right but still, LADYBUG??? no offense Marinette but you don’t stand a chance against Ladybug _

_ Me: perhaps I don’t have to… _

_ Alya: ???? _

_ Me: well, maybe I’ll take it slow. move onto someone else. get to know myself _

_ Alya: if you say so girl,,,, if you need our support the squad is always gonna be here _

_ Me: good to know <3 _

_ Alya: 🧡 _

She smiles down at her phone. If she deals with Alya early, she doesn’t have to deal with Alya wanting to comfort her after the “heartbreak.”

She isn’t all that heartbroken about it, considering that she is Ladybug - and that their relationship is fake, despite her very real feelings. She’s angsting more over that than she is about that Ladybug and Adrien have a relationship. It doesn’t feel like she’s using her superhero persona to get her to like him - they’ve gotten to know each other enough to the point where she hopes it’s more than just that, at this point.

She can maybe believe that Adrien likes her as Marinette. Maybe. But it’s easier as Ladybug. It’s a shield against reality, that Marinette is Ladybug and Ladybug is Marinette. It’s easier to be Ladybug, in a way. Ladybug is armor, shielding her when she needs it. Marinette doesn’t have that armor around her. It doesn’t mean that Ladybug is fake, or that Marinette is the real her, just that Ladybug has more limitations than Marinette.

It’s been hard to recognize that lately. Ladybug has so much more responsibility than Marinette nowadays. Being Ladybug has felt like a never-ending job with the guardianship and keeping everything a secret.

But being with Adrien…the very prospect used to make her nervous, but now it’s become relaxing for her to just be with him.

_Luka: i heard the news. Are you ok?_

_Me: I’m doing pretty good. how are you doing?_

_Luka: you know you can always be honest with me_

_Me: I have no cause to lie, really._

She doesn’t. And though she can’t tell Luka that she’s Ladybug, she’s always done her best to be as honest as possible with him.

This is part of that honesty. And she can always explain it away as “as long as he’s happy, I am”. Because Adrien seemed happier on their date, despite it being a bit of an awkward mess once they actually got around to sitting at the table. She values their friendship as Marinette-her and Adrien, a lot. It’s been easier to talk to him since they started becoming friends, as both Marinette and Ladybug.

She goes to get dressed, and then helps out downstairs. There are no plans for today with her friends, and she gets some money out of working downstairs for the day. And more money means that she can keep paying for the dates. No matter what he says, she doesn’t want him to attract suspicion. Which is a little ridiculous because their sham of a relationship (well, the relationship part - not the sham part) is supposed to be open and public.

But she still wants to protect him as much as she can. (And that’s the main reason she agreed. She still wants to protect him. Above all else.)

Bakery work is helpful in taking her mind off the current state of things. She’s retrieving orders and helping out customers every now and then and the bustle of the bakery keeps her busy.

It keeps her from thinking about it for a little longer.

***

_ Felix: I hope you’re happy, dear cousin. Your rendezvous is officially a Twitter trend, which means that several online publications have probably already written articles. _

_ Me: busy _

He’s just doing some more work on Chinese. He doesn’t get many opportunities to practice - his pronunciation suffers as a result, but where are there many opportunities to practice Chinese in Paris?

This is the day he takes to devote to it, normally. By noon, though, the tutor has to leave.

_Felix:_ _Chinese? Useful language._

_Me:_ _Not terribly fun to learn_

_Felix:_ _You have got to stop getting your name in papers._

_Me:_ _Not much I can do to stop that one._

_Felix:_ _I worry about you a lot, Adrien._

_Me:_ _Says the guy who stole my phone and tried to ridicule my friends._

_Felix:_ _All in good fun, right?_

_Me:_ _It isn’t “good fun” if it hurts people_

_Felix:_ _I’m sorry if my fun hurt people._

_Me:_ _A little late, but an apology is an apology._

_Felix:_ _And your dame? I don’t know if you’re making the wisest decision with her._

_Me:_ _Me neither, if we’re being honest._

But if you looked up “mediocre decisions” in the dictionary, you might just find a picture of Adrien Agreste, beaming up with that model smile of his he puts on for the cameras.

That date with Ladybug was one of the best nights of his life. But the consequences after…he isn’t sure if he’s ready to face them.

Like Father. Father rarely has anything to say unless it’s disapproval, and he just wants to be able to get something _right._

He takes a deep breath.

“I hate to say this about your cousin, kid, but he might be right about this one.” Adrien glares at Plagg.

“Let me make this choice. You can always say ‘I told you so’ later.”

Plagg gasps. “I’m offended that you think I’d ever do that.”

He smiles.

The next time he sees Ladybug may well be Tuesday night, when they patrol. But they’ll always have texting in between. They have time.

And that’s the most important thing.

Maybe he needs to talk about this with someone that will be more encouraging than Felix or Plagg.

***

Marinette collapses in her bed after a busy day of work. She’s tempted to just pass out then and there. She does end up falling asleep.

She wakes up, however, to knocking on her trapdoor. “Ugh,” she groans as she regains most of her brain functionality. “You better have a good reason to be here, Chat Noir, or else I’m going to _skin_ you,” she mutters to herself as she opens the trapdoor and climbs onto her balcony.

“Hello, Princess,” he croons. She rolls her eyes.

“You better have a good reason to be here. I was sleeping.” She crosses her arms as she speaks.

“And how are you doing this fine evening?” He winks at her. She’s tempted to snap at him so that she can go back to sleep, but she really doesn’t want to snap at him.

“Just fine,” she answers. “What are you doing here?”

“I just wanted to talk.”

She raises an eyebrow, dubious. “Really. Just talking.”

“About the date I had last night.”

She smirks. “I knew there was a catch. How was it?”

“I like her a lot. I can’t talk about it a lot, because it was a date I had as my civilian self-”

“Your civilian self can get it, but you can’t?”

“Hey!” He flexes. “I could _definitely_ get it in this form. But I wouldn’t want to cheat on my dame, yes?”

Chat _could_ get it, if she’s being really honest. But she has to bury that sliver of affection - being with Chat, whether Marinette or Ladybug, is more dangerous than the payoff would be. The entire existence of Chat Blanc is enough to make her question the wisdom of dating Chat.

***

He raps on the trapdoor, once twice three times.

He backs away to let her open the door and climb up onto the balcony. She seems tired, almost as if she just woke up.

“Hello, Princess.” She rolls her eyes and crosses her arms.

“You better have a good reason to be here. I was sleeping.” Ah. As he suspected.

“And how are you doing this fine evening?” he asks, shooting off a wink to cheer her up.

“Just fine,” she replies smoothly, barely skipping a beat. “What are you doing here?” She’s always been a master at turning it back on him.

“I just wanted to talk.”

She raises an eyebrow. She seems doubtful, but he really doesn’t want anything else. No matter _how good_ food sounds right now, he doesn’t have much time before he has to be back for dinner. “Really. Just talking.”

“About the date I had last night.” She _smirks._ He really should just turn tail and run now.

“I knew there was a catch. How was it?”

“I like her a lot. I can’t talk about it a lot, because it was a date I had as my civilian self-”

She interrupts him with a quick “Your civilian self can get it, but you can’t?”

“Hey!” he says, indignant, flexing one of his arms. It isn’t a particularly good flex. “I could _definitely_ get it in this form. But I wouldn’t want to cheat on my dame, yes?” The codename that’s based off of what Felix said just comes out of his mouth. It didn’t feel particularly insulting, and he likes it. He can turn it from something bad into something good.

She seems to be thinking on that a little, and then bursts into laughter. He smiles as she takes her time recovering.

“I’m sorry. In more serious terms - as long as you talk about it and make sure that she’s okay with it. At least that’s what one of my friends tells me.”

Sounds like pretty good advice - probably Luka, but it _could_ be someone else.

“Your friend seems like they have pretty good advice.”

“Yeah. He does, normally.” She seems almost…wistful. “You don’t seem like the type, though.”

“Definitely not.” Though maybe. _Maybe,_ but he would never confess that to her. Because that skims a bit too close to the truth. “I have an idea for the next date, but I don’t know if I could let her know about it because she took care of the details on the last one.”

“If she doesn’t think your opinion is worth anything, then she’s not worth it,” she says. How can she be so resolute? It’s the love of his life that he’s talking about, the only…the _only_ person he’s ever loved.

“It’s not that easy.” He puts on his model smile to pretend everything is fine. “But I’ll keep that in mind, princess.”

“You really like this one, huh?” she asks. “Thought you were still hung up on Ladybug.”

He takes a moment to think. How should he answer that? He needs to _not_ reveal his identity to Marinette, because Ladybug might just murder him for that. On the other hand, he wants to be honest with Marinette. But Marinette is just a civilian. She’s a _brilliant_ one, but a civilian nonetheless and it would be dangerous.

“You don’t know for sure,” he says with a wink he doesn’t mean. “Maybe I got over her.”

She frowns. “Well, that’s good for her!” The tone doesn’t match her expression. “And good that you’ve found someone else as a civilian that you can love just as much.” She offers him a soft smile.

Is she _jealous?_ He would’ve never taken her as the jealous type, if he’s being honest.

“I hope it works out,” he says. “I’m terrified that it won’t because of how we both are.” Not in terms of personality, but just because of their shared fame. Hopefully she just interprets it as in terms of personality. “I don’t think anyone ever expected the two of us to get into a relationship. And the fact that she actually tolerates me after the mistake I made around her…” He’s referencing the Aspik incident - which he acknowledges as a mistake. “...it’s practically a miracle.” That’s a bit of a hint - that’s a _lot_ of a hint, but it could also be a reference to the fact that he has a Miraculous.

“I’m sure that your relationship will go well. Black cats might be bad luck - but you’ve brought plenty of good to people.”

He blinks. “I-I have to go. Dinner beckons.”

He leaps over the edge of the balcony, using his staff to catch himself and vault off towards home.

What was that? It’s good that he kept his identity secret - but he’s lied to one of the only people he feels like he can be honest with. It’s a necessary sacrifice for the preservation of his identity, and perhaps he shouldn’t trust Marinette with so much, but it still feels like he’s betraying her, in a way.

He arrives on his windowsill. “Plagg, claws in.” A flash of green light, and he leaps down into his room as Adrien again.

“Cheese. Now. If you’re going to see your little girlfriend-” Adrien frowns at that, “-I’m going to need some sustenance.”

He pulls a small piece of camembert from his jacket and tosses it up for Plagg to catch it.

Nathalie knocks at his door. “Adrien? Dinner’s been prepared. Do you want to eat up here?”

“Yes, please!” he answers. He grabs his phone from one of his pockets.

One new text.

_ Felix: If it’s unwise, then why are you doing it? _

Felix would never understand this. He isn’t sure why he’s trying to make him understand. But in a way, he wants his cousin to understand him, his decisions. It probably feels a bit desperate, at least by now.

‘If it’s unwise, then why are you doing it?’

If he’s going to go down, he’ll choose this hill to die on over any other. He hasn’t regretted anything yet - except not asking her out for real (as opposed to being a coward and ‘fake dating’ the person he loves). It’s always a possibility that this could crash and burn on him, but he’s going to stick it out for as long as possible.

Another knock. He opens the door, and a tray is outside.

He takes a deep breath, takes it in, and closes the door. He grabs his phone and hits the conversation with Ladybug.

_Me:_ _I had an idea for our next date. I have a photoshoot Wednesday, but I do get lunch break. We could have a little picnic on the shoot location._

_Me:_ _Maybe it’s a horrible idea, I don’t know. Maybe it’s too soon._

And now he has to wait. Wait for her to text him back. Even though he understands why she can’t text back straight away, he feels a little nervous. It’s only because of Marinette’s words that he’s sending his proposal for their next date to Ladybug. It’s not a terribly public date, but he doesn’t think they should be trying for terribly public, just not private. He doesn’t want to see the flash of cameras every time they try and go on a date. He doesn’t want to be _that_ couple on the cover of every magazine with faces censored, a hot topic between celebrity blogs, shipped endlessly by fans.

He’s seen what the flash of cameras and the paranoia that stems from people constantly watching to see when you’ll make a mistake can do to relationships. It messes them up. Sometimes irreparably.

He goes to shower, thinking it’ll help him decompress. He ends up almost falling asleep in the shower, but when he stumbles out, dressed to sleep, he sees that he has a new text.

_Unknown Number:_ _That sounds great._

She hasn’t called him love. Not since their date, however real it is. He already feels the lines blurring in their relationship. How much longer can he say to her that it’s _just_ a charade?

He takes a deep breath, sets his phone on the nightstand, and rolls over to sleep. School tomorrow - he’ll get to see Nino and the rest of his friends.

What will they all think?


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The in-person consequences of the date during class.
> 
> (Featuring: Marinette Goes Off, Adrien is lonely, some Adrinette feels, the entrance of Ladynoir, and some more in-person Ladrien)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoo boy. This chapter...it might not be long, but there's a lot in it.
> 
> Thanks to Khan and Elojen for betaing!

Marinette wakes up to Tikki pulling her hair. “Marinette, wake up! It’s past time!”

She gets up in a panic. “WHAT????”

She looks at her phone. It’s late.

“You kept hitting snooze, Marinette,” Tikki explains, unhelpfully. “It’s Monday! Time for school!”

She sighs. “It’s a good thing all my homework is done!” She rushes off to the bathroom to start getting ready, at lightning speed so she isn’t late for class.

She rushes across the street and into the school just as the warning bell rings. She breathes a sigh of relief and heads up to class as the students empty out of the courtyard.

After Marinette puts her things in her locker and takes what’s necessary for her first few classes, she finds that a bunch of people are gathered around Adrien’s desk. A few are hanging back (re: Lila), but the majority of the class is gathered around his spot.

“What was Ladybug like?” Nathaniel, probably trying to get a bit of inside scoop for his comic.

“Did she use any pet names?” Rose, ever the romantic.

“How were the drinks? I’ve been looking for a good bubble tea place.” Kim, surprisingly.

“Marinette!” Alya turns and beams. “Good morning, girl. How you feeling?”

“Pretty good, if I do say so myself,” she replies. The rest of the class falls silent upon seeing her. A few of them keep Adrien busy, but most of the girls are going up to her.

“Are you okay?”

“Marinette, it’s fine.  _ Collège _ isn’t the end of everything.”

“Sucks that it’s Ladybug.” She’s surprised that Lila’s comforting her, but if there’s anyone Lila hates more than Marinette, it’s Ladybug. And if Adrien’s dating Ladybug…well, she can see Lila’s logic, at least. Lila wants to pull an “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.” It’s not going to work.

It’s honestly overwhelming, their concern. Especially when she doesn’t need it.

“I don’t need your concern,” she retorted. “I’m fine. Adrien can date whoever he wants - I  _ don’t care  _ anymore.” It’s harsher than it needs to be, if she’s being honest. Alya flinches.

Has her excessive crush really been such a constant?

***

He breathes a sigh of relief as almost everyone flocks to Marinette. Chloe and Nathaniel are still there, because they want to talk to him about Ladybug. He doesn’t really  _ want  _ to talk about his date with Ladybug. Just because they’re together and they’re famous doesn’t mean he wants to sell her out.

He hears Marinette snap: “I don’t need your concern. I’m fine. Adrien can date whoever he wants - I  _ don’t care  _ anymore.”

“Marinette, we’re just worried about you. If you repress your feelings, you could get akumatized!” Rose says.

“She has a point, girl,” Alya adds.

“I literally did not feel anything upon hearing the news. Actually, you guys confronting me is making it  _ more  _ likely that I get akumatized - not that I ever would after that time.” She shudders a bit to emphasize.

Alya took a bit to piece her reply together. “Marinette, you aren’t invincible. You might not want to get akumatized, but resisting is difficult. Not that I don't think you can’t, but…we just need you to be honest.”

She shrugs. “I could not be more honest right now. I don’t know what I can do to make you believe me.”

He looks over, confused.

“I would stay out of that, dude,” Nino whispers to him. “I think you speaking up would be the worst possible thing.”

He nods, understanding, and pulls out his phone to text Ladybug.

_ Me: _ _ bring food for yourself. I get special food bc I have my meals planned out for me _

The tension in the classroom is still high until Mme Bustier walks in, breaking it with an, “Okay class! Good morning. Sit down in your proper seats, please.”

Everyone goes to sit down, the atmosphere now more subdued.

Adrien has never been more grateful for the start of class - including his first day at school.

***

Marinette has never been more grateful for Mme Bustier showing up in her entire time in her class. She can’t tell them the  _ real _ reason why she’s perfectly fine with Adrien dating Ladybug, and she hasn’t been given a chance to  _ explain, _ just tell the “truth” that would involve her  _ lying _ to them.

She takes dutiful notes as she listens to Madame Bustier lecture about history. Alya slides a piece of paper over to her, edges torn away.

_ Marinette, I know I can be pushy, but we all mean well. I believe you’re telling the truth. If you ever need to talk, we’re all here. _

She looks over at Alya, and then returns to taking notes on class. She appreciates their concern, she really does, but it isn’t really warranted. Marinette understands completely. That doesn’t mean that she isn't frustrated, though. The notes are gradually turning into doodles underneath her pencil.

“Marinette,” Alya nudges her, whispering. “Pay attention.”

She looks down at her paper to see the drawing. It’s a fashion drawing - of a better outfit to go over her suit during dates.

She sighs.

“Alright everyone! Turn to page 394. The questions after this passage will be homework for tomorrow.”

The bell rings to announce lunch, and the students all rise from their seats, trudging out the door as opposed to the usual jubilance.

Marinette grabs her lunch and jacket and heads home. She doesn’t tell anyone where she’s going, but does sense someone watching her go.

She just keeps walking to her home.

Her parents are surprised to see her - they’re busy serving customers, but they still spot her coming in and look at her with shock. She breezes by then, rushing up the stairs to her room to eat.

She needs some time to herself - or perhaps some time to talk to Tikki. She lets the kwami out of her purse.

“Marinette, Adrien texted you last night. I forgot to tell you - I was going to this morning, but I didn’t get to because you were so busy getting ready for school because you were running late.”

“Thanks for telling me now. Tikki, spots on.” In a flash of pink light, she’s transformed. She continues eating as she pulls out her communicator to check her texts.

True to Tikki’s words, there’s a text from Adrien.

_ Adrien <3: _ _ bring food for yourself. I get special food bc I have my meals planned out for me _

She didn’t think of that when she took him out to the bubble tea place. Shoot.

_ Me: _ _ I will. Hope our date didn’t get you in any trouble for deviating from it _

_ Adrien <3: _ _ actually, my meal plan is off, because the dietician in charge doesn’t know that I generally have more physical activity than she accounts for 😅 so it’s ok _

_ Me: _ _ Okay, good to hear. So should I bring a little something for you? Some dessert, perhaps? _

_ Adrien <3: _ _ I’ll pass - don’t think I can eat it _

_ Me: _ _ Alright. See you Wednesday, love. _

_ Adrien <3: _ _ see you then 💕 _

A heart emoji? Why would he even consider sending that? Their texts are  _ private, _ it’s not like he needs to push the fact that they’re in a relationship right then.

Maybe, for the first time since they started this whole affair, she can let herself hope that he likes her back.

Or maybe it was just a response to her use of “love.”

But she can let herself hope. Just for a bit.

***

Marinette’s ditched them for lunch. Adrien suspects that she went home. It’s more than a little concerning, considering what had happened earlier that morning.

He’s sitting across from Nino, who’s sitting next to Alya. The two of them are lost in their own little world together, which is a frequent enough occurrence.

Normally, he and Marinette would make fun of them together (trading whispers so they don’t realize it). But she isn’t there. He feels a little sad about it, though he does understand, in a way, why she left.

Besides, he has…his own date, he supposes, even if it’s nothing more than just filling the plus one spot because both of them are cowards.

But he still misses her, in a way that feels different from just…missing the companionship of a fellow single person (though he isn’t single anymore in the eyes of everyone else) that also happens to also be a friend of his.

He’s jarred out of his thinking by the vibration of his phone in his pocket.

_ Unknown Number: _ _ I will. Hope our date didn’t get you in any trouble for deviating from it _

_ Me: _ _ actually, my meal plan is off, because the dietician in charge doesn’t know that I generally have more physical activity than she accounts for 😅 so it’s ok _

_ Unknown Number: _ _ Okay, good to hear. So should I bring a little something for you? Some dessert, perhaps? _

_ Me: _ _ I’ll pass - don’t think I’ll be able to in a location like where we’re going _

_ Unknown Number: _ _ Alright. See you Wednesday, love. _

She used “love” again. And they’re texting, it’s not like it’s a public space where she’s calling him that to preserve the perception that they’re in a relationship. It’s just a casual use.

And that inspires him.

_ Me: _ _ see you then 💕 _

It’s…a little risky to use a heart emoji, but she started by calling him love.

He keeps on eating, eventually finishing his lunch.

About ten minutes before they have to head to class again, Marinette walks in. She looks a lot better, more relaxed than before. He scoots over slightly to indicate that the spot next to him is open.

She takes it.

“And where were you this past hour? I’ve had to third-wheel the power couple alone!” he jokes to her. Alya and Nino really have been enveloped in their own world today. As much as he loves that his bro is happy, it seems like he doesn’t exist as much more than Alya’s boyfriend lately.

“I went home for lunch. Needed some time to myself after this morning.”

He feels kind of jealous of her ability to just  _ leave. _ She literally lives across the street, he supposes, so that helps somewhat. “Man, I wish I could do that. Just, go off-campus for lunch and me-time.”

“Well, I’m sure that something good’s happened over the past fifty-three minutes,” she jokes.

“Actually, something has.” He reaches his hand up to his neck, unsure if he should tell Marinette about it. He figured out that she had a crush on him that day in the museum. But…he feels kind of as though he’s being emotionally unfaithful to Ladybug (and the crush on him prevents him too). Which is ridiculous because they aren’t even dating.

Another layer to that is the whole Multimouse thing. Ladybug clearly doesn’t want to bring back Marinette - she hasn’t explained why - and Multimouse wasn’t fighting against them during the battle with Miracle Queen. There’s  _ something  _ up with Marinette. He just can’t figure it out.

Until then, pursuing a relationship would be unwise. Especially since he isn’t even sure exactly what his feelings  _ are. _

And though Adrien might make some bad decisions sometimes (re: Ladybug), in the end he still knows that being with Marinette isn’t right for right now.

“What is it?” she asks.

He makes the final decision to tell her then. “Ladybug and I scheduled our next date.” He can feel his face heating up a bit. “I miss her, and it’s only been a few days.”

She laughs. “Codependent much?”

“Just dependent, I think. I hope Ladybug isn’t as dependent on me as I am on her.”

The bell rings just then, and they rise from their seats and go to their next class together.

***

She walks back into school about ten minutes early, which is a  _ record. _

She spots Adrien sitting at a small table across from Alya and Nino. He scoots over, almost indicating that  _ this spot’s open. _ She heads towards them and takes the spot next to him.

A few weeks ago, she would’ve been hesitant to take that spot, fearful that she would slip up around him again, make a fool of herself.

But now she can sit next to him with confidence.

“And where were you this past hour? I’ve had to third-wheel the power couple alone!” The statement’s filled with mirth, but it seems true based on how Alya and Nino are now, sharing earbuds. Nino  _ never  _ wears earbuds unless he wants to share music, and that’s a rare enough occurrence. They’re leaning against each other.

“I went home for lunch.”  _ Duh, Marinette. Could you  _ not  _ state the obvious for once in your life? _ “Needed some time to myself after this morning.” None of it’s a lie, but she still feels nervous about how she explains it.

“Man, I wish I could do that. Just, go off-campus for lunch and me-time.” That’s unexpected. She supposes that everyone needs an escape, but after being homeschooled for so long, wouldn’t Adrien want as much contact with others as he could get before returning to that clinical mansion?

“Well, I’m sure  _ something  _ good’s happened over the past fifty-three minutes,” she replies. She knows exactly what good thing had happened to Adrien - their next date was confirmed. But she wants to know if he’ll talk about it with her.

“Actually, something has.” He reaches towards the back of his neck again, his usual nervous tell. He seems hesitant to tell her exactly what, so she’ll push a bit. There are reasons that Adrien would hesitate - including that he could know about Marinette-her’s crush on him. There are other reasons that he would too (preserving their privacy - Marinette is best friends with the Ladyblogger, though she wouldn’t sell herself out like that), but for some reason that one stands out to her. She doubts it, but he’s still hesitant.

“What is it?”

“Ladybug and I scheduled our next date.” He blushes a bit. “I miss her, and it’s only been a few days.”

She laughs at that, to cover up for the fact that her mind is going  _ holy cow, he  _ misses  _ me _ . “Codependent much?”

“Just dependent.” God, how could he not know that she relies on him just as he relies on her? Though there are many more reasons that Adrien could be reliant on Ladybug. “I hope Ladybug isn’t as dependent on me as I am on her.”

She should tell him. But anything she says will be taken as just another attempt to continue the charade.

The bell rings. They get out of their seats together to head to their next class. The rest of the day goes by in peace.

***

School goes by relatively fast. The next class is Science, which is interesting to him, so it passes in a blur.

After-school basketball goes well, too. He knows that basketball won’t be something he sticks with afterwards. He doesn’t quite have the height for it, he knows - he doesn’t think he’ll end up as tall as his father (and his father is  _ tall,  _ frankly). And besides, basketball isn’t as enjoyable as fencing has been for him. He’s learned to find solace where he can in what he does, helping out the younger kids during fencing, picking out his  _ own  _ pieces for his concerts, and more. It’s the subtle things that really help him enjoy what he has to do.

And then he has to head home.

“Your father will be joining you for dinner tonight,” Nathalie informs him as he enters the car after basketball practice. He perks up, despite being tired from basketball.

“Really?”

“Yes. There are certain things that he wishes to discuss with you tonight.”

He doesn’t even really process that beyond the  _ yes. _ Father is having dinner with him - he hasn’t had that in  _ ages.  _ The last time he really had a conversation with Father was when Felix and Aunt Amelie came to visit, and that was weeks ago.

He smiles, thankful that he gets an opportunity to just sit at the same table as Father. Interactions like that don’t come often. He has to cherish each and every one of them - and not ruin it like he did last time. He never wants to ruin a nice conversation between them again. He just has to avoid saying the wrong thing.

Lately, it seems like anything he says is the wrong thing. But he has to find the right thing to say. He needs to get this right.

They arrive at the mansion. He heads up to his room to shower and change. He doesn’t want to smell for dinner, but he doesn’t want to look like he’s trying too hard to impress, either.

He just gets dressed as normal, and then he heads for dinner.

He’s alone in the dining room. He takes his typical seat at the foot of the table and sighs, hoping that Father will be there for once.

His father walks into the room. “Adrien.” He sits across from him at the head of the table. The distance between them is only a few meters, but it feels like the distance between Earth and Pluto

“Father.” He makes his final mental preparations.

“I just wanted to talk a bit before dinner is served,” he proclaims. “Nathalie told me about your…” Father frowns. “...little outing with Ladybug.”

“And what did she say about it?” He tries to sound confident, but he knows that he just sounds caught in the middle of doing something he shouldn’t have.

“She said that you confirmed that the post that this…small tea shop made was, in fact, real. I will not prevent you from going out with Ladybug - it will do us some good with your combined power in the headlines. However, I would like to be informed on your outgoings. I would like to know when and where these outgoings will be taking place.” Adrien refrains from sighing. A sigh now would just be seen as impetuous. “And, of course, please discuss with the PR team before making any impulsive decisions regarding the locations you choose.”

“Of course.” He relaxes a bit, at least outwardly. “Is there anything else, Father?”

Dinner is served just then, arriving in the hands of nameless servants.

“Thank you,” he whispers to the one that deposits his food in front of him.

“I would suggest being careful with Ladybug.” He looks at Father, confused. “She may not be what she seems to the public.”

What reason would he have to be cautious? He knows Ladybug better than anyone else who’s ever claimed to know her - not that he can say that, because that title belongs to Chat Noir, not Adrien Agreste.

“I will, Father,” he says. They both start to eat, the atmosphere between them more tense than anything he’s ever experienced - including ice cream with Kagami after he had to reject her. 

“And to let you know: Ladybug is visiting the photoshoot during lunch break for a picnic.”

He heads back up to his room to get ready to sleep.

“Your $#&^* of a father is planning something,” Plagg says to him as soon as they’re in the safety of his room. “I can’t tell what. But the fact that he talked to you at all was suspicious. I thought that Nathalie would talk to you about it.”

“I’m sure that everything’s okay. We actually had a  _ real conversation,  _ Plagg. Maybe we can get it more often.”

“Kid,” Plagg answers, “I’m surprised at how long you’ve made it going like this.”

He furrows his brows. “What do you mean?”

Plagg shakes his head. “Just go to bed, kid.”

He gets ready for bed, and within fifteen minutes he’s in bed.

“Look, just because your father actually had a conversation that lasted longer than thirty seconds with you doesn’t mean you can take up your side of the bed.” Adrien almost cracks up at that, but rolls over nonetheless and almost immediately drifts off.

***

Tuesday at school goes by without any event. Nobody questions Marinette about her mental health. And that’s for the best.

Because tonight she has another harrowing task - patrol with Chat. Although Chat’s had his own date (coincidentally, on the same night as hers), she still has doubts that he’s  _ completely _ over her.

And now they have to  _ talk.  _ As Ladybug and Chat Noir, not Marinette and Chat Noir.

(She needs to tell him about Chat Blanc. Tonight…tonight might be the night.)

She tries to finish up as much of her homework as possible before the patrol, because she has a date tomorrow - she needs to go shopping before for food, and she needs to actually  _ go  _ on the date. And then she’ll probably get roped into hanging out with her friends or something in the evening.

“Tikki, do you think I should tell him about Chat Blanc?”

“You don’t owe it to him to tell him. It’s a theoretical situation that no longer exists in a different timeline.”

“I still think it would be good to tell him,” she answers. “He got akumatized during it and I had to defeat him, he has the right to know.”

An alarm goes off on her phone. Time to go.

“Tikki, spots on!” A flash of light and she’s swinging off the balcony towards their rendezvous location - the statue of them in the park.

They’ve had to switch their location - at first it was the Eiffel Tower, but then there started to be tourists  _ waiting  _ for them to show up at the Eiffel Tower, almost like a modern myth.  _ Hey, go to the Eiffel Tower on Tuesday night, you might just catch the superheroes on patrol. _

They moved to other, smaller landmarks - but there’s always someone waiting for them at the landmarks if they spend too many weeks there. They’ve adapted to cycling through a few different locations. They always determine the location of their next starting point during their patrol that night, though they do keep a list of some locations. (None are the Eiffel Tower or the Arc de Triomphe - too crowded.)

Tonight’s, though, is the statute of them. She doesn’t have the best of memories associated with the statue - every time she looks at it, she spots a new flaw.

“Looking for more inaccuracies, milady?”

She smiles. Chat. “Not for tonight. Just thinking about how they might have to change it in the future.”

“Oh. Yeah.”

“Growing and changing. I mean, so much has already changed since this statue was made.”

“Yeah,” he says, sighing wistfully. “It was simpler back then, though, wasn’t it?”

“Simpler doesn’t necessarily mean better,” she answers. “It just means that it was easier.”

“We’ve come so far.” He looks up at their faces. “And yet I feel more helpless now than I did back then.” She looks over at him.

“Me too.” It’s painful to admit, but it’s still true. She felt helpless on that first day against Stoneheart, hopeless and self-deprecating. She’s more confident that they can defeat any akuma Hawk Moth throws at them - but everything else makes her feel more hopeless than before.

“Patrol?” he asks.

She could use a good run. “Race you!” She hooks her yo-yo onto a nearby building, and she’s zipping up and away.

“Hey!” she hears Chat yell as he propels himself upwards. She leaps from roof to roof, timing herself with the ease of practice as they run over the rooftops of the city. The lights are on all around them, and she’s laughing. Patrol always manages to make her feel less stressed out by the end, even when they have to deal with tourists that just want a glimpse of Ladybug and Chat Noir.

The race lasts until one or both of them tire. She can stay swinging for a while, but she has less endurance when actually  _ running. _ She takes one more swing and calls it. “Done!”

***

“Race you!” Ladybug calls, hooking her yo-yo onto a building and zipping on up.

“Hey!” he calls as he uses his pole to catch up to her.

They run across the rooftops for a bit, a tradition or when one (or both) of them really needs to run. One or the other will call a race, and they’ll chase each other until one person decides to call it.

He can hear her laugh, but he feels more distracted than normal. The conversation…

The statue of them isn’t a place that they have the best associations with. But it’s a conspicuous enough place that both of them know and yet obvious enough that no one would ever think of it.

But her comments make him think about the future. Will they still be Ladybug and Chat Noir in the future? Will they ever defeat Hawk Moth?

“Done!” Ladybug calls from ahead of him. He uses his staff to helicopter up to the same roof. Whoever calls “done” first loses. And while he wasn’t going very fast, because  _ thinking,  _ he’s still surprised when she calls.

“So soon?”

“Chat, it’s been fifteen minutes.” He probably looks really confused right now.

“It’s really been that long?” Exhaustion is starting to sink in. Maybe it really has been that long. He plops down to where she’s laying on the roof. They look up towards the back night sky together. It’s nearly impossible to see the stars - all the light pollution is making it hard to find the tiny pinpricks of light that are easily obscured by the city lights. But the moon is visible, in all of its half-filled glory. “What’s on your mind?”

“I could ask you the same - but, I’m pleased to tell you, I have another date with Adrien tomorrow. He has a shoot tomorrow, but we’re going to have a little picnic during the lunch break. I have to get up to get food before the picnic.”

“Oh. That sounds like a fun date.” He smiles. He’ll be on it, but he  _ can’t tell her that. _

“There’s something else I wanted to talk with you about.”

“Oh?”

“Remember when I called you on a non-regular patrol night?”

“Yeah. And then we just chilled.”

“That day, Bunnix came to me. I made a mistake, and it somehow led to your akumatization. Someone - a civilian - figured out my identity. It somehow got to you. And I don’t know all the details - I would ask her, but I don’t know how to find Bunnix. The akumatized you was named Chat Blanc, and he was easily the worst akuma I’ve ever fought. Worse than Miracle Queen, worse than  _ anything,  _ and that includes all the times you’ve sacrificed yourself for me. Because this was just me. And I managed to fix it, and everything’s fine. But I just…wanted to tell you. It concerns you. And I shouldn’t have kept it from you for so long.”

“Who was it?” he asks. He has to know who it was. He  _ suspects, _ but he doesn’t know for sure.

She looks away. “I…it was Adrien. I think part of why I want a relationship with him now is so that he won’t share my identity with anyone else and it won’t get back to me. So that he’ll learn to trust me, and learn why it’s so crucially important.”

How did she not figure it out from that? Adrien figured out her identity and Chat Noir got akumatized…perhaps she just doesn’t want to connect the two of them. But…oh. That was his fifth name day.

That gift Ladybug left for him. That…can’t be the mistake that she’s referring to, right?

He can’t put it together. It’s too risky. As much as he’d love to finish solving the mystery of who was  _ really  _ behind the gift (because obviously it’s the civilian identity of Ladybug), it’s too much of a risk now. As much as keeping secrets doesn’t do them much good, if it ends in him being akumatized then it’s not good.

Now he understands why she’s been more adamant. Now he understands.

Because actions  _ always  _ have consequences.

“I think it’s good that you told me. I know Adrien, and while I believe you, I also find it hard to believe that he would share your identity willy-nilly. He doesn’t seem like the type to do that. I think talking to Bunnix would be your best bet.”

He needs to lead her away from discovering his identity, now. She’s been leading him away from hers for so long, and now he has to be the one misdirecting her.

Adrien doesn’t have a choice.

“I need to talk to her, but I don’t think I can just yet.”

He sighs and gets up, extending a hand so that she can get up too. “I think we both should head out.”

“Yeah.” She looks over at him.

“Let me know if you talk to Bunnix, okay?” he asks. She nods.

“Where will we meet next week?” she asks him.

He thinks. “The Pantheon?”

She hooks her yo-yo onto the next building and fires off a salute of acknowledgement.

He watches her swing off, but not for too long before he heads away from the rooftop.

One of the only thoughts he has left in his head is how could he have succumbed to an akuma? What did it take to get him to submit?

***

Telling him about Chat Blanc was a mistake. He could ask Adrien. He could figure it out… 

But somehow, she doesn’t think that he will. She zips onto her balcony.

“Tikki, spots off.”

“Did you tell him?” the kwami asks, as soon as she’s Marinette again.

“I did. He took it better than I thought, considering…everything.” She sighs. “These past few months have been a lot, Tikki.”

“It’s good that you have someone to distract you, though,” Tikki answers. “I know I always seem serious and discouraging, but it’s good to have some fun sometimes and relax.”

“Thanks, Tikki,” she says. “It really means a lot to me that you say that. Now, time for me to get ready for bed.”

She gets ready for bed and sleeps.

Tomorrow will be a better day. Another date - and it’ll be okay.

As long as she’s with Adrien, she’ll be alright. As long as he never knows, it’ll be alright.

It’s like a mantra, only she doesn’t really believe it.

She li- _ loves  _ him, but it’s hard to love like this.

***

Morning. Early mornings normally come with photoshoots so that they can get pictures of him in the sunrise, and it takes at least a couple hours before he’s ready to go, so 4 AM awakenings it is. He could’ve skipped patrol.

But he didn’t want to abandon Ladybug.

She would’ve understood, but… 

He fires off a text to her - as Adrien.

_ Me: _ _ we still on for today? _

It might be a while before she responds because they were out late and all, and she probably doesn’t have to get up early. Missing school is a bummer, but he has to make that sacrifice sometimes so he can spend the rest of his time until university in school.

He gets dressed - though he doubts that it’ll last, he still needs to be presentable for the stylists. He brushes his hair, and then tickles Plagg to wake him up.

“Camembert…”

He waves a small triangle of the cheese near him, then snatches it away as Plagg goes to eat it.

“Not until you get out of bed.” Plagg floats out. He tosses the triangle in the air and Plagg snatches it up. “Come on, we need to get going if I’m going to get some tea.”

“I think you’re plenty awake enough, kid.” Adrien opens his shirt and Plagg gets in for the day.

He sighs and heads out, downstairs.

***

Marinette wakes up the next morning. She gets dressed, brushes her teeth, and does some of the other essential things that teenage girls do in their morning routine.

She checks her phone. She’s running a bit late to school, but if she hurries she can still make it on time. And then she realizes that she should probably check her communicator, too.

“Tikki, spots on!” she says. As Ladybug, she slides open the yo-yo to see one new text.

_ Adrien <3: _ _ we still on for today? _

4 AM. Not like she was awake.

_ Me: _ _ Of course. I just woke up, sorry. Had a late night last night. Tell me when you get on break and I’ll be there ;) _

The wink…might be a bit much. She needs to grab food.

But first, breakfast. Meal of champions and heroes.

“Spots off.” She sighs as the transformation releases.

“Any reason why you had to transform with such urgency?” Tikki asks.

“I mean, Adrien probably gets an early start at photoshoots, so maybe he’s already had lunch and I missed it but I hadn’t because he would’ve texted me or maybe he thought we-”

“Marinette, calm down. I’m sure you haven’t missed it, he just doesn’t have his phone on him during the shoot.”

She takes a deep breath. “Yeah. I’m sure that’s all it is. I think I need something to eat.”

“Good idea.”

Marinette heads downstairs to grab a pastry for breakfast.

“Good morning, Marinette,” her mom says cheerfully to her. “Any plans today?”

“Just going out for lunch with my friends. It’s bring your own food, though, so I need to run to the store before.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to pack your own?”

“I have to get a basket, too - or a least something picnic-esque to put it in; may as well get lunch while I’m at it.” She shrugs. (She also doesn’t want to do anything that he might recognize as  _ Marinette.) _

Marinette finishes her pastry and gets up.

“Okay. Do you need any money?”

“No, I’ll be fine. I have enough left over from my last commission to make it.”

“Alright. Have a good day!” Her mom waves as Marinette exits.

The half-day goes by quickly, especially when compared to yesterday. After class, she walks down the steps of the building and waves goodbye to her friends.

She heads to the store, browsing the pre-prepared foods with a store plastic basket in hand. She selects a pasta dish that looks good. Time to grab a couple snacks and a basket.

She ends up getting a small basket and a candy bar from the selection near the register. She walks over to the little sit-down table section and grabs a fork to put in her basket.

Okay, picnic with Adrien is a go.

Tikki taps at her hip twice. A text from Adrien.

Okay. She exits the store and finds a place hidden away to transform. Setting down the basket, she proclaims, “Tikki, spots on!”

In a flash of pink, Ladybug’s there. She flicks open her communicator to see a text from Adrien.

_ Adrien <3: _ _ just got off for lunch. don’t have much time _

_ Me: _ _ I’ll be there in a second. Where’s the shoot? _

_ Adrien <3: _ _ Park with the carousel _

_ Me: _ _ See you soon _

_ Adrien <3: _ _ yeah _

She latches her yo-yo to a lamppost and takes off into the air, swinging steadily to the park, careful to not drop her food.

She pulls in next to Adrien, a smile on her face.

“How’s it going, my miracle?” He pecks her on the cheek. For what it’s worth, he plays the part well.

“Pretty good, now that I’m here with you, love.” She feels a little reckless, like she’s willing to have fun and get into danger because this danger doesn’t have the same consequences.

**Author's Note:**

> Updates on Wednesdays and Sundays. No guarantees that it'll be every Wednesday and Sunday, but I will only post chapters on Wednesdays or Sundays.
> 
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